Roadway.



No. 683,056. l. Patented Sept. 24, |90l. F. A. MALETTE &. E. SEYBLT.

ROADWAY.

(Application tiled July 1, 1901.)

(No Model.)

TN: mams PETERS co. Photo.uwofvusmnnfcn. u. c.

UNrrnD STATES vPATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK A. MALETTE AND EDWARD SEYBOLT, OF GENEVA, NEW YORK.

ROADWAY.

Sil?ECIIEICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,056, dated September 24, 1901.

Application filed July l, 1.901.

To @ZZ whoml it may concern:

Be it known that we, FREDERCK A. MA- LETTE and EDWARD SEYBoLT, citizens of the United States, residing at Geneva, Ontario county, New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Roadways, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention is designed for the production of a rigid, permanent, and durable roadway, and the same resides in a novel construction of such a roadway and in the method of laying it.

The primary object of the invention is to produce a roadway in which the actual wearing or impact surface thereof is composed of stone or fragmentary portions thereof so closely associated, combined, and bonded together as to form a practically continuous, rigid, and waterproof surface.

In carrying out the invention each particular stone or fragment of stone is coated with bitumen, and the stones are thereafter placed upon and spread evenly over a previouslyprepared foundation, which may be of any character. The whole is then subjected to compression, as by passing a heavy roller over the surface, to reduce the voids between the stones or fragments and to firmly bond said stones or fragments together by the adherence of the bituminous coatings to each other. ous stone surface, upon which a top dressing or supplemental coating may be subsequently applied, the same consisting, preferably', of coal-tar or other pitch having combined therewith sand or stone screenings. This top dressing is not intended to provide a completed or finished surface for the roadway, but merely to smooth up the wearing-surface thereof by lling the interstices and small voids at the immediate surface of the roadway without filling the voids which occur beneath the surface of the stones of which the superimposed layer is composed. The layer of broken stone referred to eventually forms the wearing-surface of the roadway, which takes theweight of the traffic, the abrasion of the wheels, ttc.

With the above and other objects in View, the nature of which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction of roadway and in the Serial No. 66.700.

This produces a practically continu- (No model.)

method of laying the same, as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional view of a portion of a roadway, illustrating the improved construction. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the top dressing or smoothing course applied. Fig. 3 is a similar view of a modified construction.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all figures.

In carrying out they invention wefirst lay a suitable foundation A, which may consist of concrete or any other pavement-foundation-material now in use,or a combination of concrete and such other pavement-foundation material. After thefoundation has been completed a layer B of broken stone is placed thereon, which constitutes the wearing-surface of the roadway. The fragments'or pieces of stone of which this wearing-surface is com-- posed vary in size from one-quarter of an inch to two inches in diameter, or, in other words, they are of such sizes as will pass through screens having from a quarter-inch mesh to a two-and-a-half-inch mesh. The layer of broken stone may be of any desired thickness, according to the character of traffic, a thickness of three inches being sufficient for all ordinary purposes.

The pieces or fragments of stone of which the wearing-surface is composed are primarily coated with coal-tar or other pitch of a quantity not sufficient to fill the voids or spaces between the same after they are laid and compressed, but sufficient to make said pieces or fragments adhere firmly together, so as to form a complete and effective bond when the layer of stone isv subjected to the pressure of a steam or other roller. In order to coat the pieces of stone, they are preferably placed in a suitable mixer and stirred indiscriminately until all of the fragments are thoroughly coated. They are then evenly spread upon the foundation and rolled. They are then pressed together and thoroughly compacted by a steam-roller or otherwise in order to reduce as far as possible, but not entirely fill, the voids and open spaces between the stones. This causes the stones to adhere firmly together and forms such a thorough and effective bond between all the pieces of stone that a practically rigid and IOO unyielding stone wearing-surface is provided adapted to withstand the impact and abrasive effect of the wheels of vehicles passing thereover.

In order to smooth up the exposed surface of the roadway after the stones have been thoroughly rolled and compressed, as above stated, resort may be had to a thin dressing or surfacing of pitch combined with sand or stone screenings, or both. Only a suflicient amount of such material is deposited upon the surface of the roadway to fill in the interstices or shallow voids at the immediate surface of the road-bed. This is not an cssential feature of the present invention, but is merely resorted to in order to give a finish and assist in making the wearing-surface waterproof; Such surfacing coat or dressing is designated b v the reference-letter C.

By the improvement described instead of the soft and iiexible surface such as exists in the ordinary tar macadam roadways or pavements now in use in this and other countries a solid and substantial structure is produced which provides a water-tight wearingsurface that will not melt or be picked up by the calks of horses shoes or the wheels of vehicles, but which will bring directly upon the stone of the wearing-surface the abrasion of the wheels and take all the wear of the roadway traffic, the idea of the invention being to form a stone roadway of fragments of stone of various sizes cemented together by a bituminous coating and bonded by compression. We do away entirely with the indiscriminate fillings which are usually placed in the voids between the pieces of stone, which fillings in the usual structure of a macadam roadway form cushions on which the particles of stone may roll and shift, thus causing a rapid deterioration of the roadway. We propose to coat the pieces of stone with pure bitumen unmiXed with sand and pulverized limestone or hydraulic cement and also to roll or compress the stone before applying the final dressing or finishing-coat of asphalt or bituminous composition, the latter, as previously stated, being only suiiicient to smooth olfand fill up any uneven places inthe wearing-surface.

The construction illustrated in Fig. 3%, while involving the same principle as that illustrated i-n Figs. l and 2 and above described, differs therefrom in one or two details. In the roadway of Fig.` 3 the base or foundation consists of a finished macadam road. This foundation embodies a two-inch layer D of broken stone, the same being rolled in a loose condition into the surface of the soil for the purpose of equalizing the foundation or of making it hard and of the same general character throughout. The stone may be rolled into the soft spots by compression alone, while in other places the soil may be moistened by sprinkling or otherwise and the broken stone thoroughly embedded in the moistened soil with the aid of a heavy steamroller. After the layer D has been prepared in this manner we place upon the same a preferably four-inch layer E of broken stone and stone screenings, the said stone and screenings being laid loosely to a depth of about five inches and subsequently compressed to approximately four inches. The layers D and E constitute a complete macadam roadway and serve as the support for the stone roadway B, which is formed and laid in the same manner as the layer B of Figs. l and 2 and above described. The screenings of the layer E are spread equally and evenly, and by iiushing and rolling they are caused to ll the voids in the macadam roadway. On top of the stone roadway or layer B is placed a finishing layer F of limestone screenings or fine gravel, or both, without any coating of pitchor bitumen. This last layer or surfacing is rolled on top of the layer B and serves to equalize and render uniform the finished surface of the roadway, a suicient amount of the limestone screenings or fine gravel, or both, being employed to make and constitute a superficial impact or wearing-surface for the roadway. By reason of the bitumen coating of the stones comprising the layer B the last and finishing layer of screenings or gravel, or both, will adhere firmly to the stone when subjected to the compressing action of a heavy steam-roller.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A roadway comprising a foundation and a layer of broken stone of varying sizes thereon, the fragments of stone being individually coated with bituminous material, which,when the same are subjected to pressure, forms a bond,- and the tops of the upper of said stones protruding above said bond to form a wear-` ingsurface of stone.

2.4 A roadway comprising a foundation, a wearing-surface thereon consisting of broken stone of varying sizcs,-the fragments of stone' f being individually coated with bituminous material, which when the same are subjected to pressure, forms a bond and produces a 1 rigid and unyieldin g wearing-surface of stone, with the voids or spaces between said stones being unfilled, and a top dressing laid between the protruding tops of said stones for smoothing the wearing-surface of the roadway without covering the tops of the' stones;

3*. A roadway comprising a foundation, a wearing-surface thereon consisting of brokenl stone of varying sizes, the fragments of stone being individually coated with bituminous material, which, when the fragments are subj ected to pressure, forms a bond and produces a rigid and unyielding wearing-surface of stone, and a top dressing of pitch mixed with sand or stone screenings laid between the protruding tops of the stones for smoothing the wearing-surface of the roadway without covering the tops of the stones.

4. The method of laying a roadway, which roo Ito

Iig

consists in preparing a suitable foundation, spreading evenly thereon a layer of broken stone coated with bituminous material, and then subjecting the same to compression to reduce the size of the voids and bond the fragments of stone together, the tops of the upper stones of said layer protruding above the bond and forming the wearing-surface of the roadway.

5. The method of laying a roadway, which consists in preparing a suitable foundation, spreading evenly thereon a layer of broken stone, the fragments 'of which have been previously coated with bituminous material, then subjecting the same to compression to reduce the size of the voids and bond the fragments together, the voids remaining unfilled, and finally adding a top dressing to fill the interstices between the protruding tops of the stone and smooth olf the surface without cov'l ering the tops of the stones.

6. The method of laying a roadway, which consists in preparing a suitable foundation, spreading evenly thereon a layer of broken stone, the fragments of which have been previously coated with bituminous material, then subjecting the same to compression to reduce the size ofthe voids and bond the fragments together, and finally adding a top dressing of pitch combined with sand or stone screenings to fill the interstices between the protruding tops of the stones and smooth off the surface without covering the tops of the stones.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses. y A

FREDERICK A. MALETTE. EDWARD SEYBOLT. Witnesses I. V. TRAINOR, J. G. FARWELL. 

